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June 2017
Staff Profile:
Thomas reid









Title: Zookeeper
Hire Date:  November 2016 
 Hometown:  Anderson, South Carolina
Favorite Animal at the Zoo: Elephants & Jumbe
On the Calendar
Little Sprouts - wonderful water
July 7,  9:15 - 10:15 a.m.
kids only wild night: Trunks, tails & tales
July 29, 6 p.m.  - 8 a.m.
F.A.W.N. - boisterous bears
July 21, 9:15  -  10 a.m.
summer camps
July camps still available; sign up today!

Click here to read our Palm Oil Newsletter and learn what YOU can do to help save orangutans in the wild!



What's New? announcing new amur leopard, anadyr!
Anadyr (pronounced "Anna-DEER") Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's new Amur leopard, represents the world's rarest big cat species and one of the rarest subspecies in nature. They are critically endangered, with an estimated 70 Amur leopards left in the wild and approximately 175 in human care throughout the world. Though these numbers seem alarmingly low, there is hope because these numbers have doubled in the past ten years.

Anadyr came to the Zoo on a breeding recommendation to help contribute to those numbers and to also help increase genetic diversity within the Amur leopard population in human care. This breeding recommendation came as part of the Species Survival Program (SSP). The SSP is a cooperative population management and conservation program for select species throughout zoos and aquariums in North America. Each SSP manages the breeding of a particular species in order to maintain a healthy and self-sustainable population that's both stable and genetically diverse.

Animal Encounter : 
meet our 'pawsitively' adorable canada lynx kittens
Learn more about our new Canada Lynx Litter!
Kristen Cox, senior animal keeper in Rocky Mountain Wild, says watching four month-old Canada lynx kittens wrestle might be the cutest thing she's ever seen.

The kittens were born May 6 to mom, Migina, and dad Kajika, who are both 10 years old. This was the parents' third litter, and Cox said Migina continues to be a caring, protective mom.

Canada lynx litters usually consist of one to four kittens. Their eyes stay closed for around two weeks after birth. When their eyes open, they are a bright blue color, but as they mature, the color will change to hazel brown. Right now, all four kittens have those brilliant blue eyes.

Click the video above to see our little lynx in action!

Health & Wellness: 
Children's hospital colorado and cmzoo animals present: tips on how to stay healthfully hydrated
Hydration is a crucial element of health for any species - especially during the warmer summer months. With our altitude, making sure you're getting enough water is an absolute must, especially if you plan to take a hike in the great outdoors or even around Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. 

Let our CMZoo animals inspire you to get plenty of water and be sure you follow these helpful hydration how-tos from Children's Hospital Colorado.

Check out the video above to see how CMZoo animals stay healthfully hydrated!
For more information and healthy tips, visit: childrenshospitalcolorado.org.
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Conservation: 
The keys to black-footed ferret breeding success: lighting, testing, time
Every expectant mother wants good lighting for her big moment, but for black-footed ferrets, lighting is absolutely critical to optimum breeding.

CMZoo Conservation Coordinator Jeff Baughman utilizes lighting cycles, lots of cell testing and a solid timetable to successfully breed the endangered small mammals.

Currently, Baughman averages about 20 to 30 black footed-ferret kits per breeding cycle. The ferrets are a little behind schedule right now, but Baughman has his fingers crossed that the females due from the beginning through the end of July will provide healthy kits. Baughman and staff have a whelping success rate of 57% - an impressive statistic that has helped bring this species back from the brink of extinction.

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Explore and Learn: 
learning how to live with wildlife in your backyard
My Big Backyard at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has always been a very fun place - but did you know there are tons of learning opportunities, too? Maybe you're interested in starting a backyard chicken coop or a honeybee hive, or you're curious as to how to get that backyard flower garden to bloom better than ever. My Big Backyard is a great place to get that information.

Backyard Explorations are a whole new series of hands-on programs that are designed to give participants information on how to safely live with, manage, learn from and enjoy the wildlife that could be found in their own backyard.